The present invention generally relates to land grid arrays, and more particularly to the installation of modules within the sockets of a land grid array.
Area array socket connectors are an evolving technology in which an electrical interconnection between mating surface is provided through a conductive interposer. One significant application of this technology is the socketing of land grid array (LGA) modules directly to a printed wiring board in which the electrical connection is achieved by aligning the contact array of the two mating surfaces and the interpose, and then mechanically compressing the interposer. LGA socket assemblies are commonly used today in the electronics industry to attach single-chip modules or multi-chip modules to printed wiring boards.
The surface of the module that connects to the printed wiring board includes thousands of contact landing pads that attach to the circuits within the module. The electrical contactors of the module need to be aligned with corresponding electrical connection points on the printed wiring board to yield desired operation of the circuits. Successful installation of these modules without damage to the fragile contacts typically requires a skilled operator using a hand tool to keep the module level and aligned during the installation operation.